“The inefficiency in the U.S. economy means a tremendous waste of energy resources and money," the report
says. "These scores suggest [other] countries may have an economic advantage over the United States because
using less energy to produce and transport the same economic output costs them less. Their efforts to improve
efficiency likely make their economies more nimble and resilient.”
The U.S. does best in the buildings category, where it finishes eighth. It does worst for transportation, which
it's 15th.
"The United States has made some progress toward greater energy efficiency in recent years, particularly in
areas such as building codes, appliance standards, voluntary partnerships between government and industry,
and, recently, fuel economy standards for passenger vehicles and heavy-duty trucks," the report adds. But,
overall, its "story is disappointing" and has improved little since the last ACEEE International Scorecard in
2012